Master storyteller Joss Whedon has become known for his strong female characters and throughout the courses of his shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly ujumla, jumla themes of feminism and overcoming male oppression become clear. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, an internet experiment carried out during the writers’ strike, was a bit of a departure from his usual political message but still depicted a female character as the only one actually accomplishing anything for the good of society. His latest onyesha Dollhouse is in some ways the most blatant criticism of a sexist culture, but...

Dollhouse has an odd relationship with elements of S&M (sadism and masochism), au zaidi broadly BDSM (bondage and discipline, domination and submission, sadism and masochism; kinky stuff). The general premise of the onyesha seems to involve elements of such nature, specifically a structure characteristic of the dominant/submissive model. The onyesha has included scenes of bondage as well as a dominatrix character that briefly goes over the philosophies of BDSM about trust. I have some familiarity with the subject, and while I’m glad for the inclusion of a sadomasochistic character, which makes...